LizzieMaine
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The 1923 Girl Scout Law:
1. A Girl Scout's Honor Is To Be Trusted.
2. A Girl Scout Is Loyal.
3. A Girl Scout's Duty Is To Be Useful And To Help Others.
4. A Girl Scout Is A Friend To All, And A Sister To Every Other Girl Scout.
5. A Girl Scout Is Courteous.
6. A Girl Scout Is A Friend To Animals.
7. A Girl Scout Obeys Orders.
8. A Girl Scout Is Cheerful.
9. A Girl Scout Is Thrifty.
10. A Girl Scout Is Clean In Thought, Word, and Deed.
That's pretty much exactly the same as it was when I was in in the early '70s. I remember some kids had trouble with #7, and our leader used to say "The girl who can't obey orders will never be qualified to give them." And looking thru the 1923 manual, I see something very similar: "The girl or woman who cannot obey can never *govern.*"
Remember that this is only three years after women got the right to vote, and the Girl Scouts are preparing girls to *govern.* Pretty darn feminist stuff, I'd say.
In our town, the Boy Scouts were sponsored by the Congregationalists and the Girl Scouts by the Methodists, but that basically meant only that we used the church hall for our meetings. There was never any explicit religious influence that I can remember -- and there isn't any in the 1923 book, either.
I still carry my Girl Scout knife. It's saved my bacon at work on more than one occasion.
1. A Girl Scout's Honor Is To Be Trusted.
2. A Girl Scout Is Loyal.
3. A Girl Scout's Duty Is To Be Useful And To Help Others.
4. A Girl Scout Is A Friend To All, And A Sister To Every Other Girl Scout.
5. A Girl Scout Is Courteous.
6. A Girl Scout Is A Friend To Animals.
7. A Girl Scout Obeys Orders.
8. A Girl Scout Is Cheerful.
9. A Girl Scout Is Thrifty.
10. A Girl Scout Is Clean In Thought, Word, and Deed.
That's pretty much exactly the same as it was when I was in in the early '70s. I remember some kids had trouble with #7, and our leader used to say "The girl who can't obey orders will never be qualified to give them." And looking thru the 1923 manual, I see something very similar: "The girl or woman who cannot obey can never *govern.*"
Remember that this is only three years after women got the right to vote, and the Girl Scouts are preparing girls to *govern.* Pretty darn feminist stuff, I'd say.
In our town, the Boy Scouts were sponsored by the Congregationalists and the Girl Scouts by the Methodists, but that basically meant only that we used the church hall for our meetings. There was never any explicit religious influence that I can remember -- and there isn't any in the 1923 book, either.
I still carry my Girl Scout knife. It's saved my bacon at work on more than one occasion.
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